Evaluation committee presents final report

Like all other NWO-I institutes, ARCNL took part in a SEP (Strategy Evaluation Protocol) evaluation over the period 2017 – 2022. The committee chaired by Professor Guus Rijnders (University of Twente) recently shared its findings with NWO-I and ARCNL.

The committee praises the unique model of ARCNL, bridging the gap between fundamental research and practical applications. Various parties benefit from this: as private partner ASML, as public partners NWO, and the Amsterdam universities, and consequently also the Dutch academic and semiconductor industrial ecosystems. The committee was deeply impressed that so much success has been achieved in such a relatively short period of time. “The research quality at ARCNL, spanning Materials, Metrology, and Source themes, is exceptional and can stand comparison to top university groups world-wide”, writes the committee in its final report.

As a relatively young organization, ARCNL’s academic culture focuses on community building. “The ASML application, which is leading for most of the research and researchers, creates a common ground and thereby a unique atmosphere of social connectivity and mutual support throughout ARCNL”, according to the committee.

The committee calls the inclusivity efforts commendable, and notices notable progress in female recruitment. However, it also mentions that: “gender disparities persist in leadership roles and continued efforts are needed so that ARCNL can attract and retain talent.”

The committee ends its report with a number of recommendations, such as increasing visibility of ARCNL with stakeholders and taking advantage of funding opportunities other than those of partner ASML.

Read the full report on the ARCNL website: